First, if you put yourself into position to receive votes, for once it could be to your advantage. If you attend Tribal Council and receive at least 3 votes against you (not including tiebreak votes or votes nullified by an idol) but survive the vote, you will receive an advantage in the game. Each individual will be eligible to earn this advantage only once during the season. Are you willing to risk it and try to get some votes thrown your way?

The second bit of strategy revolves around trust and your willingness to vote against your allies. If you vote for a player with whom you have voted together for 3 consecutive Tribal Councils, you will win a clue to the hidden immunity idol. In other words, if 4 players vote together for the same targets at 3 straight Tribals and then 1 of those 4 turn and vote for another member from within that alliance, they would receive a clue to the idol. The key is you must vote for the same person at each of the tribals no matter if the player you vote for is eliminated or not. Trusting an alliance and sticking together is always a good strategy, but now you can be rewarded if you're willing to make a big move and break away from an alliance.

I have voted with the cohens twice consecutively. Once before merge for Aaron (even though the idol blocked them) and once after merge for Aaron when he left. Do both of those votes count for this consecutive rule so far?

Follow up; if I vote with what the cohens TOLD me to vote this time but they lied and vote someone else, does that D/Q me from the twist. So if they are voting me and I vote Shy Guy that doesn't count as voting WITH them right?

Or what if only a couple of them vote Shy guy with me and a couple of them vote another way. Does THAT count as three consecutive votes and if NEXT TIME I vote against the hypothetical TWO who voted with me this time I can still get an idol clue?

You must vote for the exact same person in consecutive tribals you attend together. You've voted Aaron 2x in a row, so anyone else who has voted for Aaron at those 2 would count. If you vote for the same person again tonight, that would = 3. Then if you vote for the person who has been voting with you, you would get the clue.